TOKYO -- For two decades, retired Lt. Gen. Koichi Isobe was associated with formulating Japan's National Defense Program Guidelines, the road map for future defense capabilities. During those years, he faced constant pressure from lawmakers and the Ministry of Finance to cut tanks and artillery.
When the Cold War came to a close, some suggested that Japan did not need any of the 1,200 tanks it had, since Russia was unlikely to invade from Japan's north anymore. Isobe and his colleagues in the Ground Self-Defense Force argued that such a drastic reduction would significantly weaken Japan's defenses and managed to maintain 600 or so.
